Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Essay

The product I chose was the Cool Glove. The product was designed for the sole purpose over driving down a human being’s core temperature when they are overheated. This is especially important in regards to athletes who drive up their core temperatures in aerobic and anaerobic activities. This cooling agent can bring in a new age of performance enhancement without the use of steroids or other illegal drugs. When an athlete is tired and exhausted their core temperature typically increases above 100 degrees to a point where they are nearly physically drained. In normal circumstances the body would require a cool down period of around 60 minutes to regain that lost stamina. But with the Cool Glove this long process can be accomplished in 5 minutes by injecting a cold current through the hand and into the traveling bloodstream. The techniques that can be used to market this product are narrowcasting, emotional branding, and across-media marketing. This product is specifically designed for athletes, both amateur and professional. Therefore, by narrowcasting the product’s marketing tactics we can fully reach this specific athletic audience. Emotional attachment must be developed between the product and the player. The product must become synonymous with successful, tremendous, and exemplary athletic performance. These performances are typically broadcast on a variety of mediums, in which case across-media marketing would be especially useful. These three techniques are the most effective way to market this product.

Narrowcasting would be a very effective marketing technique for this product. Narrowcasting will aim the Cool Glove’s athlete specific message to their narrowly defined audience. This technique is used by a great deal of marketers today when they have one specific target audience. One of the most popular usages comes from the Internet where marketers cater to specific demographics via niche websites. Marketing the Cool Glove should be no different. The primary target audience of the Cool Glove is athletes. Therefore, marketing this product should be done in a fashion in which athletes will be the main witness of the advertisements. Marketers now have the task of brainstorming the places, mediums, websites, and other possible tools that they can be used to market this product. The question is where can we find athletes? Certain places exist that can be used to market the Cool Glove. These places include gyms, sporting events, and schools. By narrowing down these places marketers are able to designate certain areas in which they wish to focus on. The way to utilize these places is by conducting promotions, workshops, and placing advertisements in these areas so athletes can become more aware of the product. Other ways of narrowcasting can be utilized through the Internet, television, and radio. All three of these mediums contain sport and athlete specific content that is watched, listened to, and read by potential Cool Glove customers. Sites like ESPN, Yahoo Sports, Rotoworld are all examples of great sites to place advertising in. In terms of television and radio there is also content that is sport related including live sporting event broadcasts that are watched and listened to by millions across the world. These are excellent opportunities for Cool Glove marketers to get their product out there and into the minds of their narrowly selected target audience. These are all effective tools for capturing audience attention because the product is related to the high level of athletic performance that they are seeing, hearing, or doing. If they wish to perform at that level they need this product. It will give them that edge they need to perform at a higher level.

Emotional branding is another technique that can be effective in marketing the Cool Glove. By appealing to our audience’s emotional side we can make them feel good about their purchase. Consumers often purchase products based on their feeling towards it, or the company that makes it. These products are selling this “feel good” emotion that comes when you purchase it. Marketers are in search of this emotional tie to the product that creates a certain trust or desire within the consumer. The Cool Glove is no different in this sense. The marketers want consumers to use their emotions instead of their logic. They want their purchase to be on feel rather than thought. In this case marketers want people to feel powerful when they own the Cool Glove because of edge it gives them in athletics by linking amazing performances with the product. Therefore consumers will feel the only way to achieve something so great in sports is by owning the product. By knowing this marketers can cater to their target audience’s desire to feel powerful and unstoppable, which are two essential factors in sports.

Across-media marketing is also another technique that can be used to successfully market this product. This tactic involves utilizing all forms of media including television, Internet, radio, outdoor advertisements, etc. This is similar to what was said above about narrowcasting. There are a variety of platforms in which sports are the primary content. That includes television and a variety of other mediums. By using a variety of mediums marketers can be effective in marketing to a wide range of sports and athletes. The Cool Glove can be effective in any sport that requires cardiovascular activity. It is important to get that message out their by marketing it to a variety of sports via multiple mediums.

By using these techniques the Cool Glove can be effectively marketed. Narrowcasting will allow marketers to realize and take advantage of their specific target audience. Emotional branding will allow marketers to utilize consumer’s emotions in advertising their product. And lastly, across-media marketing will enable marketers to utilize the multiple mediums that are enjoyed by the many different sports athletes across the world. These techniques will undoubtedly help sell this product when it has officially been released. The future of marketing is a difficult thing to predict. New communication tools will emerge as well as other mediums. The possibilities are endless. But the purpose of marketers remains the same. They must adapt to these changes and figure out a way to effectively communicate their message to their audience.